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Such mountainous lakes are very rare not only in Peloponnisos but all over Greece. This site is a very important refuge for migratory birds and of course for breeding, passage and wintering waterbirds. Species of concern include Ixobrychus minutus and Aythya nyroca. Moreover it is home to the endemic taxon Pseudophoxinus s. stymphalicus. This fish has a very interesting biology, since during the dry periods of the lake it survives by sinking down into the mud and forming a slippery envelope around the body. In addition the variety of ecological niches existing in the surroundings of the lake and inhabited by a number of Greek endemic plant taxa show much ecological diversity within this site.The well-developed formations of coniferous forests with the Greek endemic Abies cephalonica and Pallas Pine Pinus nigra subsp. pallassiana give an additional value to the whole site. Recently this area was used by the high school students of Korinthia Prefecture for environmental studies. A diverse vertebrate fauna lives in this site including many endemic, rare or threatened animals. Some non-bird species (two rhinolophid bats, two terrapins, one tortoise and one colubrid snake) are mentioned in Annex II of the Directive 92/43 E.E.C. (section 3.2). The two Rhinolophus species are threatened in Greece and hence classifiesd in the threat category " Vulnerable". All these species are protected by the Bern Convention and the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981.Moreover, some taxa of fish, anuran amphibians, lizards, snakes, insectivores, rodents and carnivores are listed in the tables of sections 3.3 as Other Important taxa indicated with one to four motivation markings. It should be emphasized that among these animals, some endemic taxa are included (motivation B), and that of the total of the Greek endemic reptilian species, some occur in the present site.The fish Leuciscus cephalus, and the dormouse Dryomus nitedula are threatened Greek taxa (the first considered as "Locally Vulnerable" and the second as "Rare") (motivation A). The subspecies Leuciscus c. peloponnensis is endemic to Peloponnisos. Nearly all of the "Important Species" are protected by the Bern Convention (motivation C) or/and the Greek Presidential Decree 67/1981 (motivation D). Exceptions to the former case are the taxa: Leuciscus cephalus peloponnensis, Myocastor coypus while from the above Decree catalogue the following taxa are absent: Ablepharus kitaibelii, Vipera ammodytes, Myocastor coypus, Martes foina. However, some of them receive the D motivation for other reasons. So, Ablepharus kitaibelii falls under this category since it is evaluated by the CORINE-Biotopes Project, Myocastor coypus since it forms few scattered, fully isolated populations in Greece, and Apodemus mystacinus epimelas since it is a Balkan endemic. Also, some of the important taxa listed in the Presidential Decree are eligible for the D motivation for additional reasons: (a) Bufo viridis, Hyla arborea, Rana dalmatina, Coronella austiaca and Natrix tessellata are listed in the CORINE-Biotopes Project handbook; (b) Coronella austriaca is very rare in Peloponnisos (known from 2-3 localities of the northern part); (c) Coluber gemonensis and Dryomys nitedula wingei are Balkan endemics, and (d) Muscardinus avellanarius is a taxon mentioned in the European Red List of Globally Threatened Animals and Plants (UNEP). Many bird taxa occupy the lake and the area around of it for nesting, wintering or resting during the migration period. There are raptors such as the harriers Circus aeruginosus ("Vulnerable") and C. cyaneus, the Honey buzzard, Pernis apivorus, the "Red-Backed Shrike" Lanius collurio, the Long-Eared Owl Asio otus and others. Herons also occur such as the night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax ("Insufficiently Known"), Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea ("Vulnerable"), and the Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides. Other taxa present include egrets such as the little Egret, Egretta garzetta, bitterns such as the little Bittern, Ixobrychus minutus and ibises such as the Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus ("Endangered") partridges (Alectoris graeca), terns [Gelochelidon nilotica ("Endangered") , Chlidonias niger ("Vulnerable")], woodpeckers (Picus viridis), nuthatches (Sitta neumayer), sandpipers (Tringa glareola) and a notable colony of Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, have also been recorded. |
